We awoke bright and early, and finished the last of the Raclette on some baguette, (sub standard baguette, becoming bread snobs!), with the promise of buying more, better, baguette in Ry, then heading out somewhere pretty to eat it. After saying goodbye to our lovely hosts, we headed down the hill to Ry. One thing I noticed around a few places, were little shrines, just by the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere.
In Ry (An absolutely adorable little town), we stopped at the local patisserie to get (More, Again) baguettes, and pastries. This place was one that I just wanted to ask for one of everything, in a large sack, if you please! Everything looked amazing. After filling up our bags, we headed out of town, until we found another littler town, where we found a nice flat area to sit and eat our spoils.
We then pottered off towards Rouen. We wanted to arrive at a decent time, so we would have plenty of afternoon for Touristing in Rouen, and we arrived just after lunch, I think. We stayed at the Ibis in the middle of town (got a cheap deal), and quickly showered and changed.
Rouen is lovely. I wasn’t expecting anything, as I hadn’t done any research, what with being busy with other things. It is an adorable town, with streets preserved as they were in medieval times, with their crooked beams and leaning houses and narrow streets.
Medieval streets of Rouen
It is also home to Monet’s Cathedral – the Cathedral that Monet painted a series of impressionist paintings, all in different lights of the day. Google it, if you don’t know what I”m talking about. It was very impressive, so much detail and intricacies.
It was also interesting to read about the bombing of it during the war, and see some of the windows that were plain, as the pretty stained glass ones had been broken. It had been bombed by the Lancaster bombers, which was interesting and relevant to me, as we had actually seen some examples of the Lancaster Bombers flying at the Eastbourne airshow, a month or so ago.
There was also a large ornate building in town, that still had all the mortar shell holes in the sides of it. I find it very interesting to see these actual bits of history, rather than just hearing about it, or reading it in textbooks. It was like when we were in New York seeing paintings that Picasso had painted, then while on a walking Tour in the Montmarte area of Paris, and standing in front of the house where Picasso had actually painted that picture.
Anyway, Rouen! Rouen was also the place where Jeanne d’arc – Joan of Arc, was imprisoned, and then burned at the stake. There is a church and a memorial dedicated to her.
We wandered town, ate yummy things, and enjoyed the sights, before heading back to the hotel for some extra layers of clothing, and a nap before dinner. We ate at a lovely restaurant, overlooking the Cathedral, and it was all lovely.
Dale and Becca 
